Edge-finishing machine



May 18,1926. 2 1,584,822 I E. M. SPENCE EDGE FINISHING MACHINE Filed March 5, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 18 1926.

. E. M. SPENCE EDGE FINISHING MACHINE Filed March 5 192 3 Sheets-Shem 2 E. M. SPENCE EDGE FINISHING MACHINE Filed March 3 Sheets- Sheet 5 Patented May l8, 1925.

EDW'ARD M. SPENCE, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTJS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MA- GHINEBY CORPORATION, OF PATERSOH, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION O]? NEW JERSEY.

EDGE-FINISIEIIIQ' MACHIN Application filed March 5, 1924. Serial No. 697,028.

This invention relates to inachines for finishing the edges of sheet material and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine adapted to employ heat suflicient to shrink 5 the material in finishing the edges of pieces of upper leather which are to be used in the manufacture of boots and shoes. In the manufacture of boots and shoes, it is customary to finish certain edges of the tips, vamps, etc which are visible in the completed shoe. One method which has been used and is described in Patent No. 1,048? .211, granted Dec. 17, 1912 on application of Halsey and Perkins, consists in shrinking the margin on one side of the leather piece (usually the flesh side) to cause the other side to curl toward the shrunken side so that the finished piece presents an edge Which is all grain. Machinesof the general type of that shown in the patent, in which the work is fed past a stationary heated tool with the tool resting upon the extreme margin of the work, have gone into wide commercial use. In such machines there is a tendency, owing to the drag of the tool upon the work, to the formation of wrinkles, particularly when thin and flimsy leather is being treated; and hitherto this disadvantageous result has been avoided by the provision of suitable feeding means for gripping the work both in advance of and in the rear of the heated tool during the feed movement of the work,

According to the present, invention, the operative portion of the shrinking tool is caused to move with the work as the work is fed, thereby doing away with the drag ging of the tool over the work. In the illustrative machine the shrinking tool takes the form of a roll having the same diameter as the feed wheel and rotatable intermittently with it. Consequently that portion of the shrinking roll which is in contact with the leather at any time moves with the leather when the leather is fed; and there is no dragging of the leather past the roll.

This and other features of the invention,

. including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be described as embodied in an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine in which the present invention is embodied.

Fig, 2 is an end elevation of a portion of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a detail of the means for varying the rate of feed.

Fig. i is a detail in perspective showing most of the parts of the machine which en gage the work. I r F ig, 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing a piece of work being operated upon.

Fig.6 is a sectional view of the work after it leaves the shrinking tool, and

Fig. 7 is a similar view of the work after it has been operated upon by the hammer.

The rotary shrinking tool 7, herein shown as a narrow roll, is carried at the outer end of a split shaft comprising two semi-cylindrical copper rods 9, 11 separatedby a flat insulating member 13. The shrinking tool has the shape best shown in Figure 2 and is fastened tothe ends of the sections of the split shaft by screws 15, 17 At its forward end this split shaft is rotatable in a bushing 19 of insulating material which is carried by the frame of the machine. At its rear end this shaft is connected at 20 with a shaft 21 in such manner that rotation of the shaft 21 causes rotation of the sectional shaft 9, 11, the two shafts being insulated from each other. Fast to the section 9 is a slip-ring 23 which is hollowed out at 25 so as to'be out of contact with the section 11; and a similar slip-ring 27, hollowed out at 29, is fast to the section 11. Current is furnished to the shrinking tool 7 through brushes 31, 32, the slip rings 23, 27 and the sections 9, 11 of the split shaft, the tool being heated, as in the patented machine, to a temperature sufticient to shrink and sear the leather.

The shaft 21 is rotated intermittently from the rotary driving shaft 33 by means of a Horton clutch 35 or anysuitable ratchet device operated by a link 37 having at its upper end a yoke which embraces a cam 39 on the driving shaft. In order to permit the operator to vary the throw of the link 37 and thereby the extent of the intermittent movements of the shaft 21, a bell-crank lever 41 mounted on a fixed pivot 43 is pivotally connected to the lower end of a link 45 the upper end of which is pivoted to the link 37. Threaded into the end of the right-hand arm of the bell-crank lever 41,

as viewed in Fig. 3, is the stem of a screw 17 which extends through a slot in a curved guide member 49, so that, by swinging the bell-crank lever, the throw of the link 57 may be varied. The mechanism which has been briefly described above for causing intermittent rotation of the shaft 21 from the continuously rotating shaft 33 is old and well-known, and no further description of it will be given.

The feed wheel 51 of the present machine is driven from the split shaft 9, 11 by means of the head of the screw 15 which fits into a socket 53 formed in a recessed portion of the adjacent face of the feed wheel. A second socket 55 is provided in alinement with the head of the screw 17, said socket being of such diameter that the head of the screw 17 is never in contact with the feed wheel. In order to permit the feed wheel to be swung out of the way when it is desired to remove or replace the shrinking tool, the shaft 57 at one end of which the feed wheel is carried is rotatably mounted in a. bracket 59 one arm of which is pivoted at 61 to the frame of the machine and the other arm of which has a hole 63 to receive a locking pin 65 by which the wheel 51 may be held in operative position.

Arranged to cooperate with the feed wheel 51 is an idle presser wheel 67 carried at the lower end of a bent arm 69, said arm having a socket in its upper end in which is fastened by a set screw 71 the lower end of a vertical rod 73. A coiled spring 75 which encircles the rod rests with its lower end upon a collar 77, which is fast to the rod, and bears with its upper end against the bottom of a sleeve 81, through which the rod is slidable, said sleeve being threaded through a bore in a stationary arm 83. The rod also passes through a bore in a second arm and it is the contact of the collar 77 with the upper face of this arm which limits the downward movement of the rod 73 under the influence of the spring 75. A finger piece 76 integral with the collar 77 provides means for raising the presser wheel 67.

Cooperating with the shrinking tool 7 is a forming wheel 87 rotatably mounted at the lower end of an arm 89 which is integral with the lower end of a bar 91, said bar being vertically slidable in an undercut guideway in a stationary member 93. A tension spring fast at its lower end to a screw which-is threaded into the stationary member 93 and at its upper end to a pin 97 which is driven into the slide bar, urges the slide bar, and with it the forming wheel 87, downwardly. It will be noted, from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 5, that when the presser wheel 67 is raised, its lower end will cont-act with the adjacent face of the forming wheel 87 and raise the latter wheel with it. The extent to which the forming wheel 87 is pulled down depends upon the position of the nut 88 which is threaded upon an upper reduced portion of the slide 91.

Located just to the left of the forming wheel 87, as viewed in Fig. 2. is a hammer or presser 99. This hammer has a lug extending to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, said lug being connected by a tension spring 101 with a pin 103 driven into the rod 73. A set screw 105 is threaded through the lug from the under side and its upper end abuts. when permitted to, against the under face of a shoulder formed on the upper portion of the arm 69 which carries the presser wheel 67. In the position of parts shown in Fig. 2, the hammer is in its lowermost position, being held down through the compression of a spring 107 by a rod 109. The spring is seated in a socket in the stem of the hammer, and the lower end of the rod extends into the socket. This rod slidable in alined bores in the arms 83, S5, and is reciprocated from the shaft 33 through a crank-pin 111 and connecting rod 11 lVhen the rod 109 is raised, the compression of the spring 107 becomes less; and the tension spring 101 raises the hammer. hen the rod 109 is forced downwardly. the spring 107 is compressed and the hammer thereby forced yieldingly downward.

Arranged to cooperate with the shrinking tool and the forming wheel in imparting a downward bend to the extreme margin of the work is an edge gage in the form of a roller 115. This roller (see Fig. 1) is carried at the lower end of a slender stem 117 which is rotatable in a vertical bearing formed in a stationary part of the machine. A thumb nut 119, threaded upon the upper end of the stem, provides means for adjusting the roller verti-ally and for holding it in place.

In the operation of the machine, the work 100 is fed over the work support or table 119 away from the observer as viewed in Figs. 1 and 5, or to the left as viewed in Fig. 2. The shrinking roll 7, which is maintained exceedingly hot, scars and shrimrs the margin of the leather on that side which is in contact with it and causes the other side to curl toward the shrunken side. In the illustrative machine the right hand face of the shrinking roll 7 is dished or undercut slightly, as shown in Fig, so as to produce on the work 100. in cooperation with the forming wheel 87 and the edge gage 115, a sort of fin 200 which the hammer presses against the under side of the leather into approximately the position shown in Fig. 7. In this connection. it should be pointed out that the parts of the machine have been shown in F ig. 5 on :1 greatly enlarged scale. Actually the fin 200 is so narrow that a magnifying glass is usually required in order to see at all clearly its shape and position.

Although the invention has been described as embodied in a particular machine, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application 7 to the particular machine which has been Ill shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A machine for progressively finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, a support over which the piece is fed, a shrinking tool arranged to operate upon the margin of the piece, and means for operating the tool so as to cause its operative portion to move with the piece as the piece is fed.

2. A machine for progressively finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination,a support for the piece, a shrinking tool, and means for operating the tool in a manner to cause it to aid in feeding the piece.

3. A machine for progressively finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, a support for the piece, a shrinking tool, means for opertaing the tool in a manner to cause it to aid in feeding the piece, and means for pressing that portion of the piece which has been operated upon by the tool.

4:. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combina tion, means for feeding the piece, a shrinking tool, and means for causing the operative portion of the tool to move in the direction of feed movement during the feeding of the piece.

5. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, means for feeding the piece, a shrinlc ing tool in the form of a rotary member, and means for causing the periphery of the rotary member to move substantially in unison with the piece during the feeding of the piece.

6. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, means for feeding the piece, a shrinking tool in the form of an electrically heated roll, and means for causing the periphery of the roll to move substantially in unison with the piece during the feeding of the iece. p 7. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, a support for the piece, means for feeding the piece and means for shrinking the margin on one side of the piece, said shrinking means comprising a heated member in contact with thepiece, and means for imparting movement to the member as the piece is fed. a p

8. A machine for finishing the edgeof a piece of sheet material having, in combination, a support for the piece, means for feeding the piece intermittently, and means for shrinking the margin on one side of the piece, said shrinking means comprising a heated member in contact'with the piece, and means for imparting movement to the member substantially in unison with the mofvements of the feeding means as the piece is ed.

9. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, a shrinking tool in the form of a roll, means for holding the piece with its margin pressed against the roll, and means for rotating the roll.

10. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, a shrinking tool in the form of a roll, means for holding the piece with its margin pressed against the roll, means for rotating the roll, and means for hammering the edge of the piece after it leaves the tool.

11. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sleet material having, in combination, means including a feed wheel for feeding the piece, a shrinking tool in the form of a roll, and means for driving the wheel and roll in unison.

12. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, means including a feed wheel for feeding the piece, a shrinking tool in the form of a roll having a diameter substantially the same as that of the feed wheel, and means for driving the wheel and roll in unison.

13. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, means for feeding the piece, a hot tool adapted to shrink the margin on one side of the piece and thereby to cause the unshrunken side to curl toward the shrunken side, means for causing the operative portion of the tool to move in the direction of feed movement during the feeding of the. piece, and a former adapted to act upon the edge of the piece to increase the curl thereof.

14. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, means for feeding the piece, a hot tool adapted to shrink the margin on one side of the piece and thereby to cause the unshrunken side to curl toward the shrunken side, means for causing the operative por tion of the tool to move in the direction of feed movement during the feeding of the piece, a former adapted to act upon the edge of the piece to increase the curl thereof, and means for pressing the curled edge.

15. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in com bination, means for feeding the piece, a shrinking tool adapted to cause the edge to curl, means for causing the operative portion of the tool to move in the direction of feed movement, and forming means cooper ating with the tool, said forming means comprising a wheel which is greater in diameter at one end than at the other, the end of greater diameter extending partly across the curled edge of the piece.

16. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, means for feeding the piece, a shrinking tool adapted to cause the edge to curl, means for causing the operative portion of the tool to move in the direction of feed movement forming means co-operating with the tool, said forming means com prising a wheel which is greater in diameter at one end than at the other, the end of greater diameter extending partly across the curled edge of the piece, and means for hammering the curled edge.

17. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, a feed wheel, a heated roll, means for intermittently rotating the wheel and roll in unison about a common axis, a former rotatable about an axis which is substantially parallel to said common axis, an edge gage in the form of a roll rotatable about an axis which extends at an angle to said common axis, a hammer, and means for operating the hammer.

18. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, a shrinking tool in the form of a roll, means for holding the piece with its margin pressed against the roll. and means for rotating the roll in a direction to feed the piece.

19. A machine for finishing the edge of a piece of sheet material having, in combination, a rotatable shrinking tool, means for pressing the margin of the material against the tool, and a rotatable edge gage located close to the shrinking tool.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

EDlVARD M. SPENCE. 

